FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The University of Saint Francis celebrated the launch of its new Assisi 
Program for Discipleship and Leadership with a special event for the Catholic community on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend celebrated Mass at St. Francis Chapel, followed by “Catholic Leadership: A Night of Connection and Inspiration” at the Achatz Hall of Science and John and Toni Murray Research Center. About 80 people from the Fort Wayne Catholic community attended the event.
“The tenor of the evening was connection and joy,” Assisi Program Director Dr. Alex Giltner said. “We received a great response to the program.”
The Assisi Program for Discipleship and Leadership will prepare students to live their Catholic faith authentically and joyfully through mentorship, community, academic study and co-curricular activity. Students in the five-student pilot group this fall are Denise Jacome from West Lafayette; Veronica Loeffler from Columbia City; Addi Krebs and Grace Morris from Fort Wayne; and Paul Rivera from Columbus, Ohio.
Jacome presented a student’s perspective on the program, emphasizing how much she would recommend the program to interested students. Dr. Giltner also delivered an inspiring talk about the Trinity. Assisi Program Assistant Director Megan Quigley joined Dr. Giltner to present an overview of the program.
USF plans to accept 10 first-year students into the program each year, beginning in fall 2023, and those students will focus on prayer, study, fellowship, service and mission. Accepted students receive scholarships which cover half the cost of room and board. Applicants must submit their high school transcripts (typically 3.25 GPA or greater), recommendations from a teacher and a parish leader and a personal narrative essay, and participate in an interview. Applications for the fall 2023 cohort are due on Dec. 1, 2022.
Details about the Assisi Program are available at go.sf.edu/assisiprogram. For more information, contact Dr. Alex Giltner at tgiltner@sf.edu or Megan Quigley at mquigley@sf.edu.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. USF Downtown houses the music technology and graduate health sciences programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 18 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. Approximately 2,200 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.